1. Field of the Invention
The present invention generally relates to transaction data processing. Specifically, the present invention relates to a method, system, and program product for processing transaction data such as lottery transaction data to determine account receivable (A/R) information and the like.
2. Related Art
Data availability in the lottery industry is very limited when it comes to ticket level detail, and access by lottery retailers is typically limited to daily and weekly reports available at the lottery terminal. Traditionally, a lottery interfaces to a retailer via a third party “provide” that collects data by retailer through their lottery terminal that is connected to the third party system. This data is sent to the lottery periodically (e.g., daily) so that A/R personnel at the lottery can balance their backend A/R system and produce Electronic Funds Transfers (EFT) with the bank. While this system avoids the lottery having to manage the large amounts of data, it also exposes them to risk. Specifically, under this system, the lottery must rely on the third party to correctly provide sales and commission data to both the retailer and the lottery itself. This situation is further exasperated by the fact the lottery has limited audit ability since it does not store individual transactions in-house. Specifically, current technology relies on the third party provider to provide detailed transaction data when further research is necessary via an offline method (Compact Disc, tape, etc.)
In view of the foregoing, there exists a need for an approach that solves at least one of the problems with the existing art.